Michael E. Teplinsky

Michael Teplinsky is a skilled negotiator, an excellent teacher, and a trusted confidant. Perhaps his greatest attribute is his passion for the law and his clients. He was definitely the right attorney for me. My ex-spouse selected Family First Law and shared facts of the case with a collaborative co...lleague of Michael. The decision was made to have Michael represent me to avoid any unwanted conflict of interest from that first conversation. I found Michael's passion for collaborative law to be infectious. At first, I was lukewarm to the idea, because I was about to dissolve nearly 20 years of marriage, spend several thousand dollars, and I thought that I was being subject to a sales pitch. Truth be told, it was Michael's enthusiasm for a legal alternative that offers a better solution for all parties. His fervor comes from experience of seeing the value of this process and personal experience of an adversarial litigation. My case, like so many, should have been relatively straight forward, but the case had nuances that required all of those skills that I mentioned. He has been forced to explain the legal, financial, and personal ramifications of each component of the agreement. His countless hours have allowed me to feel confident that my legal rights have been protected and my financial interests preserved. Michael is also a man of his word. Given the complexity of my case and unforeseen circumstances, the collaborative case exceeded one year (estimated time was 4-6 months). Nevertheless, he absorbed the significant lost revenue and honored the flat rate contract up to one year of service. At that point, he negotiated an extremely fair contract to complete the process. It would have been easy to walk away from this case, or seek retribution for the lost hours; however, he honored the agreement and to me that speaks volumes about his character. The greatest value that he brings to the case is never losing sight of the children. He has helped me many times to remove the emotion of a decision and look at the impact on the children. His vast professional and personal experience provides a unique perspective that I needed many times to get through this process. I have and will always recommend Michael Teplinsky for any family law related matters.

From the moment I met Michael, I knew he was the attorney for me. Not only is Michael extremely intelligent, professional and compassionate, he was someone that put my mind at ease during a very difficult time. His vast knowledge of Family Law is quite impressive and helpful. His knowledge and exp...erience saved me from what could have been a long and ugly divorce. Michael is someone who truly cares about his clients and wants what is best for all parties involved, especially the children. He will go the extra mile to make sure you are satisfied with the final outcome. I completely respect and trust Michael. He is one lawyer I would absolutely highly recommend!!!

Failed to note key hearing date and was forced to file a continuance, the result of which made my custody desires unobtainable due to the time frame involved. Then informed me that the only way to fix the problem was to pay a second retainer since he failed to inform me that my initial had depleted b...efore I could make an informed decision. Refused to stop working on my case while I sorted the financial problem out and then forced me to fire him by threatening to keep billing me, in writing. Also seems to be uninformed of the current state of the Los Angeles court system. Left me in worse shape than when I hired him. Can not recommend.